OMG I'm going to have to pay $6 for my $5 droplet now. The sky is falling! For point of comparison, the increased annual cost is the equivalent of 3 Starbucks

OMG I'm going to have to pay $6 for my $5 droplet now. The sky is falling! For point of comparison, the increased annual cost is the equivalent of 3 Starbucks mocha lattes, or a single latte at any of their hipper indie competitors. Nobody in either DO thread has actually suggested a competitor that offers the same product for less. (Hertzner is not comparable.) Of course switching to a VPS costs less; you have to do more of the work yourself. And if $12/year increase really is a backbreaker, you can go even cheaper by going straight to bare metal (i.e., self-hosted on your own hardweare).